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Steelers took the Pepsi challenge...no more Coke at Heinz Field

If you're a fan of Coke products being part of the Steelers experience, you're in for a change. Looks like the team has signed a new deal with PepsiCo to be the softdrink of choice for the team now and Pepsi is bringing with them an arsenal of other products you'll see soon too.

Saw the article on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette today with the announcement and some details of the new deal. I wonder if Joe Greene makes a new commercial when the team gets back to the Super Bowl? lol

No matter how well Pittsburgh's professional sports teams play, Pepsi now dominates the North Shore.

The Pittsburgh Steelers this morning announced a new multi-year partnership with PepsiCo Inc., effectively shutting off the tap on the Coca-Cola products that have been associated with the football team for more than four decades.

Meanwhile, the city's growing collection of Pirates fans were already drinking Pepsi products at the ballpark.

"It was a tough decision," said Tony Quatrini, director of marketing for the Steelers, who remembers the iconic Mean Joe Greene commercial for Coke in the late 1970s and had only good things to say about the team's relationship with the soft drink giant.
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But as the most recent contract expired, the Steelers opened up talks to both soft drink companies earlier this year.

Pepsi put together a game plan that appealed to team management, including bringing in the company's other brands such as Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana.

Financial details of the agreement weren't released.

The company won't be selling cereal or orange juice at Heinz Field but the marketing team could put the Steelers logo on a box of Cap'n Crunch or do some creative promotions with Naked Juice.

The next time the Steelers win the Super Bowl -- might as well plan for the big opportunities -- any PepsiCo products would have full rights to celebrate the "Super Bowl Champions" because the company also has a partnership with the National Football League.

After the last Steelers win in 2009, commemorative Coke cans couldn't use restricted terms like "Super Bowl."